Eclipse My Helia Neoma: Victor's Journal
by Emmarina
Summary: At three years old she was found in a box in the middle of the ocean. At ten she brushed up on the seashores of Camp in a coffin, months after being thought to be dead. Now at 16 she's under the mask of a male identity in the Titan's Army. "I lie to everybody. My friends, my enemies, even the gods. The most dangerous lies though are the ones you tell yourself."-Helia Selene Neoma
1. I Can Feel This Strange Life

The brown color contacts ridiculed me. The jet black hair taunted me. The face in the mirror stared back at me. What have I done?

Half a year ago I would've screamed at the sight of myself; hair so short, skin so tan, muscle build so... masculine. Why did I choose this?

Pretending to be a boy, disguising as one of the guys, lying to myself about who I truly was. How did this happen?

I ruffled my hair some more, making it look messy in its wavy mess. I checked my shirt twice, made sure it was baggy so my true figure wouldn't show beneath it. The skinny jeans I didn't worry so much about. In the United States it was acceptable for a boy to wear such tight pants. It was considered "hot" even.

"Victor!" I turned and saw my friend James at the door of the men's restroom, his own black hair covering his nervous eyes. "We're preforming in ten! Get out here man!"

"Alright, alright!" I nodded and rolled my eyes teasingly, muttering about how a guy needs his time to look good for the ladies. James gave me a weird look but then I brushed it off. Better to let them think I'm superficial and conceited than to let them know I'm really a girl. "I'll be there in five. Tops." I said.

He nodded and walked off, the bathroom door shut behind him. I finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the mirror. Those brown contacts still mocked me. They screamed at me to take them off and jab them in the trash; Show off those true silvery-gold beauties, those orbs of metallic color. But I couldn't. If someone saw my real eye color they could recognize me and my cover would be blown. I couldn't risk it.

I remember when I used to be someone else. When I used to be a _girl_, not a boy who was too scared to tell people who he really is. Or was. If I could I would prance up to all my friends and announce my real name. I'd tell Ethan the truth, let Chris know what was going on, and even show all of my real powers to Luke. I would do that if I could, but I can't. If they knew who I really was, who I really, _really, _was, they'd treat me like a weapon. Not a demigod.

I can't let that happen. Not now, not ever.

My hands found their way to the sink where the running water splashed on my face, the cold liquid easing my nerves. I was due to preform guitar with the band Crying Cupid in a few minutes. I had to get in the zone, ready to put up a great show. I had to silence my wailing mind and focus on the songs we were going to sing. But how could I? It was my first performance, my first time on stage after joining the Dark Side recently. I was so damn nervous about accidentally getting exposed that I started shaking. Hyperventilating almost. But once I told myself to calm down, I did.

_"Helia Selene Neoma." Chiron read my name off the form I had filled for him. He sat in his wheelchair wearing a coffee scented coat and square rimmed glasses. Part of me wondered if he really needed the reading glasses, or if they were just there for show. We were together inside the blue Big House, my own body sitting erect and tense on a couch while he loomed over papers on his desk. I felt like a mental kid being interviewed by the tedious therapist."It says here you ran away from an all girls orphanage in London at the age of nine." Chiron stared at me as if expecting a clearer explanation. I didn't give one to him so he read on."Before that you were found in a box in the middle of the Atlantic ocean at the age of three. I've found newspaper clippings on how you couldn't have survived for however long in that box with only enough food and water to last for a day. You were also all alone when you were found, passed out cold and severely dehydrated. Some people believe that your story is a hoax for media attention." Chiron narrowed his eyes on me and leaned forward far enough that I could smell the coffee in his breath. "Other's claim though that you're the daughter of a mermaid, "Ocean's Child" is what they call you back in England isn't it?" _

_ I stayed silent. _

_ He cleared his throat and scanned the papers I was asked to write for him. "You also say that you traveled here to the United States under the wing of a daughter of Hermes: Miss... Angela Morris." If Chiron had known Angela once, he didn't show it. My own body betrayed me though and trembled in grief and anger when I heard her name spoken out loud. Angela Morris. Angela. Messenger Angela._ _I clenched my teeth and blocked away the memories. Going on a plane to New York with Angela, having her hold me while I cried in her arms, being abandoned by her when she committed suicide by falling off the roof of an apartment building. I needed to forget about her. _

_ "It also states here that you lived in the streets until-Justin Cook was it?- took you into his family and gave you a home. Yet the file still says that you were homeless the entire time. Please explain on that." Chiron took of his glasses and peered at me. It took all of my willpower to not shrink under his stare. _

_ "Well um, you see... Justin was only fifteen years old when he took me in. He lived in an abandoned apartment building with four other demigods: Charles Beckendorf, Ethan Nakamura, Lee Fletcher, and Christopher Rodriguez. We ran and thieved ourselves through the streets, battling monsters and other street people. Eventually there was a point when there was six other people joining our family: Lucas Cashier, Malcolm Spades, Connor and Travis Stoll, Aly Parker, and Adam Parker. Including me we all made up a family of twelve half bloods living in one apartment building. The only reason why monsters didn't catch us until there were so many is because we lived in filthy human scents." _

_ Chiron nodded like he understood, then he said, "You've only listed eleven names but said that twelve of you lived there. Who was the twelfth person?" _

_ I bit my lip and fiddled with the golden chain around my neck. Obviously, I was uncomfortable."That would be my pet wolf Eclipse. He's my best friend." _

_ "And is he here at Camp?" _

_ Lie? No. "Yes, he traveled with me here." I paused to see if I would get a reaction, but when I didn't I went on defensively. "Look Eclipse is my best friend. If he's not aloud at Camp then I won't live here without-" _

_ "Relax child, relax." Chiron wheeled himself closer until we were face to face. I felt like he could already read my secrets and judge me for everything that's not my fault."Eclipse the Wolf may stay, though he is personally your responsibility to feed and take care of." _

_ I nodded. "Yes sir...I understand." _

_ Chiron shuffled a few papers in his hands until coming to an official looking document. On the top, in Greek writing, was a title relating to parentage and godly interventions you've had in your life. Automatically I gulped and shifted in my seat. _

_ "Before you came here to Camp," Chiron started, "Lee Fletcher told me that you've communicated with Apollo correct?" _

_ I nodded, remembering the time when Lee, Justin, and I had tried to use our powers to heal Malcolm when he was badly injured. We had called on Apollo for help when he had spoken to me. "The sun god told me that I wasn't his daughter. That we're not directly related that way." _

_ "Yes, I understand that you're unclaimed, or under determined as we say here at Camp." Chiron peered down at me through his thick glasses, brown eyes digging into my silvery-gold ones. "Have you had any other godly interventions before or after that?" _

_ I looked away, lacing my hair behind my ear like I always do when I'm nervous. "I'd like use the john right now if you don't mind." _

_ Chiron tilted his head but leaned back, crossing his arms in front of his chest and reminding me of the school teacher that tries (and fails) to figure out the students behavior. "Miss Neoma you do understand that here at Camp Half Blood we have to regulate the students about any godly activity they encounter? Everything is critical to know from the smallest sign to the greatest communication anyone has with the gods. It could lead to helping the war we're facing. And as you can see throughout the campers, every little piece of help is critical." _

_ I didn't respond, I was too busy debating the decision about whether or not if I should tell him my secrets. I was lost in my choices. _

_ "There are also many holes in your story child. Like how you got here to Camp and how you ended up in that coffin in the middle of the ocean. And how you managed to survive that long." Chiron let the papers in his hands fall to his lap, my gaze not meeting his. Its like we see eye to eye, but we're both blind. He just wouldn't understand what really happened to me if I told him. He wouldn't believe me. No one would. _

_ "Helia," he called me by my first name, something nobody does. I always go by my middle name: Selene. "You can tell me whatever you want, anything that you want to get off your chest or just talk about. I am always here to talk and listen. Do you understand me?" _

_ I nodded, pressing my lips together in a thin line. "May I now use the john please?" _

_ Chiron hesitated, but he let me go. I was excused then and I ran outside to the Big House porch, where my entire family was anxiously waiting for me. Chris, Ethan, Aly, Lucas, Connor, Travis, all of them. Silently, without needing any words, they all embraced me in a giant hug where I struggled not to cry. Whether it was from heartache of what I went through on my journey to Camp, or just being damn relieved to finally be with my family, I didn't know. All I knew was that I was carrying an even bigger burden then I was before. _

_ Thanks a lot Poseidon. I hope you got what you wanted out of me. _

The water dripped from my hair on to my face and clothes, the wild look in my eyes now back. I looked like a homeless kid all over again. Instead this time I'm a boy named Victor Wolfbane. A boy who had a mysterious past who was hiding from his friends. And family.

"Victor!" James yelled. "Get out here!"

I took one last deep breath and stalked out on to stage, the crowd roaring out my name. I picked out a few people hidden in the dark of the auditorium: Chris sunken in the far east corner, Ethan leaning on the wall by the emergency exit, even Luke was among the party people. I hid my smirk and proceeded to slip under my guitar strap and into the position of base player. With the loudest voice I could manged, I yelled, "Hello Time Lord's Army!"

They went absolutely crazy, girls screaming my name and yelling out love words. I winked at one just for show. She clinched a faint. At least I think it was fake.

From center stage, James Walsh clicked on his microphone and shared looks with every one of us in the band: twin backup singers Molly and Mary Rodriguez, drummer Jolene Jinx, breathless singer and rock star guitar player Lucn Rays, and finally me: base player Victor Wolfbane. James winked at us to see if we were okay. We all nodded back reassuringly. Finally taking a deep breath with his smooth, soothing voice, James tapped into his mic. "Alright Princess, I'm going to start off with a little bit of a slow song tonight." He turned his head in my direction and pointed at me. I stepped back, confused. "This song is dedicated to our newest member of the band: Victor the Wolf." He smiled and turned back to the crowd, flipping his black hair back while at it. "We are so psyched to have this new addition to our band and army. Let's give it up for the Wolf!"

The crowd roared out my name, everyone pumped up and ready to dance and rock out. Going with the flow, I pounded up two fists and yelled out to the night sky. There, I hit the first few strums on my electric guitar and Crying Cupid started off going crazy with our instruments. Not even playing appropriately more like just making random noises. Finally, after seconds of some head bashing noise and reckless yelling, we decided to start the song.

Something about it though made me think too much about my old life going into the new:

"_I can hardly remember, _

_ the days when I felt free _

_ Never searching, _

_ cause it all made sense to me _

_ I will always remember, _

_ that point when I found out _

_ All my own plans may never come around _

_ Still we go on, never asking why..." _

_Chiron kept staring at me. He wouldn't let go. When I first entered his office he had leaned forward in his chair and looked at me skeptically. He asked me why I came to Camp Half Blood in the first place. Feeling the blood rush to my head, I struggled to answer: _

_ "_I can feel this strange life, /leading to a great life. /Where everything begins, /where everything makes sense. /So everything begins, /so everything makes sense /And nothing ever... ends." _I slouched back in the couch with arms spread out, my head leaning back on my shoulder. "Because of everything I've learned in my years of experience... Its that life goes on. You pull the brakes on life but the wheels still turn. No matter how many times you crash and burn." _

_** The song in this chapter is called Strange Life by Tickle Me Pink. I own none of the Percy Jackson Characters except my own and am not Rick Riodan. The prequel of this story is called Sun's New Moon, you can find it on my profile under My Stories. So... the little blue button? Please? For those of you who have read the previous story, you get to find out Selene's/Victor's parentage in this one... ;) **_

_**-Emmarina Aniramme **_


	2. Premonitions About Metallic Eyes

I remember how when I was at Camp Half Blood, people we judgmental depending on your blood. If you were an Apollo boy, people automatically took you as a careless player. If you were an Aphrodite girl, they put you in the category of stuck up and selfish. If you were an Athena kid you were a smart ass and if you were a Hermes child you were a thief. It was just like that. Nobody questioned it because it was partially true.

But if you were an unclaimed demigod in a crowded cabin were nobody even knows your name, people would just throw you away like a leftover in a pile of mismatching socks. Being a stereotyped because of your parentage was one thing. Not even having a stereotype because people didn't deem you as worthy for having a parent as another thing.

It made me sick, mad, and angry. I mean I was one of the unclaimed and undetermined. I thought people would get over it and just accept people for whatever their blood and parentage, but they couldn't. I think that little thing about Camp was a factor in what drove the unclaimed to hate the gods. And maybe even themselves.

"Its like people judging you on the color of your skin." Ethan Nakamura told me once when we were at Camp, years ago before joining the Titan's army. "But instead of racism, you're judged on the symbol of what appears above your head when you're claimed. Only if you're not claimed... you don't exist to most people."

I bit my lip, brushing my hair behind my ear and looking away. Ethan and I were sitting in the Hermes cabin alone, everyone else having rushed off to breakfast face and early, which was new. Both of us had gotten up too late so we decided to just skip the meal and eat whatever food Connor and Travis sneaked back in.

Now I know its against the rules for two half bloods to be in a cabin alone together, but Ethan and I are practically siblings. He knows me as a sister and I know him as a brother. We would never do anything romantically for each other.

"I just hate how the Aphrodite bunch thinks we don't matter." I blurted, sitting at the edge of a bed and swinging my legs over the edge. "Like just because we don't know our parentage, they automatically think we're invisible."

"Oh I know my parentage." Ethan proudly stated, sitting on the bed opposite of mine. "I'm the son of a successful business man from Japan. No goddess can state where I sleep because of her."

I smiled, taking in his shinning smile. "I know my parents too!" I said out of the blue. "My dad's blond, my mum's a brunette. I think she's Indian or something like that." Okay even to my ears what I said sounded lame. I mean, all I knew about my parents was what they looked like. But even those images are blurry and fuzzy.

Ethan cocked his head to the side and peered at me. I shrunk back to avoid his quizzical stare. "Your dad's a blond and your mom is from India. Yet you're a pale, auburn haired girl with silvery-gold colored eyes."

I shrugged. "Maybe my mum had a complicated pregnancy and I came out being mutated?"

He chuckled. "Yeah let's hope for that Ms. Metallic Eyes."

I punched his shoulder playfully and rolled my eyes, laughing like a little girl. "Yeah well, whatever. I still don't believe I'm a demigod though because I know that both of my parents aren't Olympians."

The squinted eyed boy raised a thin eyebrow and nodded. "Yeah, uh huh, sure... I bet one of your parents wasn't who they said they were. Maybe they were like a family friend or something. Ether way you're defiantly a demigod. Have you seen your powers Selene?"

I shrugged, rubbing my fingers together and feeling the powerful blood surge inside them. "I have powers yeah, but they don't mean anything. I'm sure any demigod can get night vision and have telepathic conversations with wolves."

"I can honestly say then that in my twelve years of life nobody has been known to do that." Ethan said.

"Well there's always a first..." I tried to keep the anxiety out of my voice.

"Yeah the first of a new line of demigods!" Ethan blurted. He talked with his hands to emphasize his words. "Think about it. You have such unique powers and talents that you could be the first of a new age of demigods with abilities that no one has ever heard about it. You'll soon be able to levitate things and read minds and even control the sun and moon! It'll be called..." He looked out in the distance and motioned his arm from one side to another. "The Golden Half Bloods.. The Silvery-Gold Half Bloods... The Metallic Half Bloods... The Half Metallic Bloods!"

I laughed, throwing a pillow at him for the jokes about my blood and the color of my eyes. "Whatever Ethan, go on dreaming with your ideas about me and my powers. All I know is that I'm normal. I'm human. And I'm certainly not some _Half Metallic Blood_." I giggled loudly.

"Oh you never know Selene! You could be a demigod that no one has ever heard of before, maybe even the first and last of your kind. That's why you're so different from everyone else!" Ethan wiggled a pillow at me, playfully tossing it in my face.

I shook my head, catching the pillow and chuckling at the floor. "Uh huh. Sure. Whatever lad. Get me a suicide note first before I laugh myself to death about this."

Ethan rolled his eyes and stood up, walking to the cabin door abruptly. "Whatever Selene. You're special and you're different. I know it. I'll be saying "I told you so" when the time comes. You just wait Metallic Eyes!"

And at that, Ethan walked out on me; His hurried footsteps hoping to catch the last food of the breakfast special. I wondered what would have happened if i listened to his words more, maybe probed for some advise about my powers from him. Though what I really wish is that I had listened to his words more, tried to understand more at what he was getting at. But how could I know that he was right? How could I know that almost everything he said was going to be true?

Oh gods. Grant me the prayer that he does not realize he is right about me!


	3. Test My Honor, Test My Trust

"Ethan Nakamura's a good kid guys, he really is. Sure he may be quiet and a little too serious but you just gotta get to know him." I was in the lounge of a tiny pub on the Princess Andromeda. Four of my band mates: Molly, Mary, Lucn, and James, were with me. We all sat on bar stools using the drinking counter as a table. Molly and Mary had begun friendly chatting about Ethan for a second, but afterward it turned into a gossip section as they traded secrets and rumors about him.

"Ethan's not even that bad. You may never even know," I winked at Molly; She was the nicer of her and Mary. Hopefully she won't pummel me for messing around. "Ethan might even have his eyes out for a certain someone..."

Molly giggled, tossing her wavy hair back and glimmering those Hispanic eyes. "Oh I thought he was interested more in Mary. He's _always _staring at her when she's on stage." Molly wiggled her eyebrows at her sister, the two seeming like dopelgangers of each other. Molly was bubbly and spontaneous, a little kid at heart who strutted around in cowboy boots and bouncy hair curls. Mary on the other hand was serious and dark, like the beautiful woman in a black dress who plays hard to get 'cause she wants to be chased after. I swear she's like the mini me of Eva Mendez.

Mary rolled her eyes, taking a graceful sip from a wineglass and avoiding my gaze. "Yeah, well, whatever. Nakamura is an disloyal and cannot be trusted. He hasn't even done his Oath to Kronos yet!" I half expected for thunder to roll out in the sky because Mary said the Time Lord's name out loud, but I figured that was just a Camp Half Blood thing. Maybe here on the Princess it wasn't as dangerous to say his name because you're on the enemies side.

I ordered a light beer from the bartender and relaxed, enjoying the fact that even though we're underage and its illegal for us to have alcohol, on the Princess its okay to drink and get drunk. Just ask Jolene. Every month she looks half as lush and gets twice as toxic.

"But you can trust Ethan. He's the most loyal chap I know honestly." I said, trying to defend my old blod.

On my left side Lucn snorted, gulping down a margarita before speaking. "Tell me that again when Nakamura stays on board for sure. I went in to that bastard's dorm today and found a note. He's left for Camp Half Blood already."

I was about to claw his eyes out for making up such a lie when Lucn handed me a slip of paper from his pocket. In Greek writing Ethan had written his goodbye to nobody in particular, just stating things like how he needed to take care of some unfinished business at Camp and would be back soon. "That dred merk!" I probably sounded like a foreign Brit as I crumpled up the note and spat, resting my head on my palms as my elbows leaned on the bar counter.

Ethan had left the Princess to go back to Camp? But I mean he was coming back right? He had to! That old chink of China was the only person I could truly count on aside from Chris and James. Okay yeah sure he didn't know that it was really Selene under this Victor Wolfbane costume, but still. That lad had been Selene's family at Camp. If that bond was still strong then maybe he could become Victor's best friend.

"Hey don't stress out about it Victor." Molly rubbed my tense shoulders, leaning in closer to comfort me. "I bet he just needs time to think. Ethan will be back soon. He's loyal."

"Loyal my ass!" James stood up from his seat and walked over, giving me a slap on the back. "Still loyal to Camp Half Blood he is! The Princess is nothing but an option to Ethan, an option that he doesn't believe is permanent. That old-"

_"Shut your cake hole will you?"_ I yelled at him, throwing my fresh drink at his face. It hit him square in the chest where he stumbled back in surprise and tripped on to the floor. He stared at me like I was a mad man, not even believing that I had just done that. "Ethan may be a lot of things but he isn't a traitor, he can be trusted! That old cabbage e had it rough when he was younger but he made it through, he made it out alright and _good. _Trust _me. _I should know." I could hear a pin drop and a clock tick, my heavy breathing from yelling catching me in a heartgrip. My shaking fists were ready to swing at anybody else who denied Ethan Nakamura's honor.

I met everybody's gaze then, the girls Molly and Mary shrinking back when our eyes met. My face began to soften when I saw that. I unclenched my shaking fists. Stupid me to get so mad and scare them, they were just naïve girls. It was my place to protect and help them, not have them hide in terror whenever I lost my tempter. Gods I'm such an idiot!

"I'm sorry." I hung my head low and stood up to help James from the ground. He accepted my help but still stayed cautious of me, keeping a safe distance away. I figured I deserved it and hung back, my hands where the group could see them. I dared myself to meet Lucn's blueberry eyes. "I'm sorry lad. I wanna blame it on the alcohol but.. I don't know. Ethan and I, we... we were good friends when we were little. He had my back and I had his. I just wish people could see and trust him like the way I do. That's all."

"Its okay man." Lucn said softly. He hesitated but patted my back anyway, nodding at me with a new found of respect in his eyes. "I think we would've done the same if it was a friend of ours."

I nodded reassuringly, turning to the girls. I gave an awkward smile. "You guys okay?" I asked.

Mary nodded, her high cheek bones and strong muscles telling her apart from her sister. "I never knew you could get so mad Wolfbane. You're always so quiet."

I shrugged, rubbing the back of my neck. "Yeah well tempter or no temper, I'd never hurt you girls okay? If I get over the top just give me a warning. I don't want to end up being violent against you lasses."

"Okay." Molly said. She gave a shaky smile and offered to walk me to my dorm since she wasn't sure if I could go on my own with all the alcohol in my system.

"I can walk!" I protested. I tried to move in a straight line but stumbled slightly, taking the hint that I should never drink again. I get so short tempered with these toxic glasses anyway.

"I'm guessing you've never been drunk huh?" Molly teased. I snorted.

We said our goodbyes to the other band mates and promised to meet again in the morning for sword training practice and then band rehearsal.

I leaned on Molly for support but was careful to keep her away from certain areas of my body. Who knew you could touch chests so much while helping a person walk?

"Yeah I've never really drunk much in my life honestly." I said as we went down the dorm hall. "Alcohol was just... not something I usually touched.

I remembered how when I lived on the streets in the Apartment with my family, my friends Connor and Travis Stoll had once brought home a six pack of beer. They beamed like it was greatest thing ever but soon they earned a slap in the face from our leader Justin. _"You boys crazy?"_ He snapped. _ "You want us to get addicted to alchohol and waste our money away on it?"_ When the Stoll brothers didn't respond Justin grabbed a beer bottle and threw it at them. Connor grabbed it before it hit him square in the face._ "Get that crap outta here before the rest of the family comes and sees that crap! And I better not smell that stuff on you boys when you come back." _What Justin didn't know though was that Eclipse and I were just on the other side of an open window. We heard all of the yelling and punishing, Connor and Travis never finding out that I saw them cry from Justin's disapproval.

Molly nodded and said something to bring me out of my memories. I just nodded back and looked at her, her bouncy hair framing her tan face beautifully. Molly was tall, elegant, bubbly, and maybe one of the most upbeat girls I've ever met. The dim lights in the corridor made her complexion look darker than usual, like she was the ghost of a Native American girl. In some weird way though it made her look prettier and more attractive. If I really was I guy I would probably fall for her immediately.

"Yeah the weird thing with half bloods is that when we get drunk, we're still alert and ready. Our vision doesn't get fuzzy and our eyes don't get bloodshot. Sure we might pass out and stumble abit but we can still walk perfectly fine. I've always found that interesting about demigods." Molly cocked her head to the side as she said that, thinking hard as the analyzing brown shades in her eyes showed it all.

I thought for a moment too, feeling wheezy in my stomach when I struck the epiphany. If I was a drunk demigod, then I technically could still walk even if I stumbled slightly. If that was true, then why was Molly still letting me use her to walk steadily? Oh gods..

"Well here we are." Molly showed me to my dorm room, letting me stand alone for a moment while I fumbled around my pocket for my keys.

"Thanks." I said out of awkward silence. "For helping me."

She beamed and nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Your welcome Victor. It was probably hard for you anyway... listening to the guys talk stuff about Ethan and hearing that he left the Princess for Camp." Molly leaned against the door of my room and crossed her arms, a sign that she was holding her ground. She wasn't going to move.

I nodded, biting my lip gently and shifting my weight awkwardly. "Yeah... it was really hard."

The fourteen year old girl nodded and looked at me seriously. I braced myself for the hard question she was gonna ask. "How do you know Ethan so well?" She pondered. "I never see you guys talking when he was here and... and you seem to know so much about him."

I sighed, mentally slapping myself for giving away information like that. "We went to Camp together." I said quickly. "We were good mates growing up I guess. We felt like brothers even. But something happened and... I don't know. I guess we never forgive each other for it."

"Have you tried talking to each other about it?" She asked curiously.

I shrugged, gazing down at my worn out sneakers. I hated lying, especially to people so sweet and nice like Molly, but I had to. If I wanted to keep my secret alive I had to make up dead words. "Yeah but he still has the grudge against me. He probably doesn't even want to admit to himself that I'm here on the Princess."

Molly nodded, looking away to think about it. "What is it that happened?" Her voice was barely above a whisper before she caught herself. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking y'know 'cause I bet it sounds pretty bad..."

I clenched my teeth and tried to look uncomfortable. It wasn't that hard. "Yeah I don't think I can really tell you about it... Just a thing between us okay?"

She nodded again, this time standing up straight. Her body language told me that she was getting ready to leave me alone. "I understand." She said gently. "I bet if I ever see him again you'll want me to not mention it huh?"

I gave a reassuringly sigh, a relief lifted from my shoulders. "Yeah that would be great. I never know how Ethan might react if I bring it up again." I tried to seem stressed out and thinking far away about it, Molly taking the hint and changing the subject.

"It was great hanging out with you Victor. Well, you and the band." She flashed a nervous smile.

I nodded, my hand on the doorknob. "Yeah, back at you lass. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah see you tomorrow."

Next Molly did the thing I never expected her to do in a thousand years:

She got up on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek.

I was left dumb and speechless while the ghost of a Native American girl walked down the hall into the dark lights of the ship.

_The hell? _

_**)))(*&)(*&)(*&)(*&)(*&)(*&)(*&)(((**_

James, Mary, and Lucn stood silently, facing each other while listening to Molly and Victor walk away from the lounge. They felt the tension in the air as Molly's giggles disappeared in an echo and Victor's shy smile was gone. Lucn then turned to James. James turned to Mary. Mary turned to Lucn.

"I can't bring myself to say it." Mary said, she was gazing at the blueberry eyed boy. "There's something we have to do. We have to put Victor through it."

Silence for a moment as Lucn thought it over, James noticing the tremble in his hands. "You don't have to be there when we do it." James said quietly, he almost felt like he was whispering a conspiracy. "We know how you felt when it happened to Jolene."

Lucn nodded and bit his lip. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know how. "What if something happens to Victor while it goes on? What if he fails the test?"

They all shifted uneasily. James cleared his throat. "Then at least we know then that we can't trust him." He said boldly. Unlike how Victor had stood up for Ethan who was gone, no one stood up for Victor while he was gone.

Mary sniffled and rested her hands on her hips, looking deeper into Lucn's eyes. She was armoring herself from the anticipation and worry that was soon to come. "You're the leader of the band Lucn. We have to have your approval to do this before anything happens. Its up to you boss."

Lucn shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "Okay but just... Just keep things under control okay? Last time we did the test... Jolene almost died. She still can't get over it y'know? We have to be more careful this time."

James nodded, patting his best friend's shoulder. "We'll be careful." He looked at Mary for reassurance.

The high kicking Latina nodded boldly. She gave Lucn a small hug. "We promise we'll be careful Lucn."

_That's what you said that last time. _Lucn thought.

**Haha sorry about the cliff hanger peoples XD So what's this little "test" the James and Mary are gonna put Victor through? It sounds a little dangerous dontcha think? And what do you think about Molly? She's certainly the most friendly of out of her and her sister Mary who's more... serious you could say. Review! :)  
and while i was can say it... "Molly and Victor sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..." JK!  
**

**-Emmi **


	4. We Need You To Kill Him

Demigod dreams. The Dangerous Double D. The fortune cookie of the night. They can be warnings, omens, messages, even flashbacks. The most haunting of them happen when you're at your weakest. They happen on the day when you know you'll never forget them. This dream though, just couldn't have come at a better time.

_ "You can't get me! I'm too fast for you!" I called after Lucas, running around the cabins area on a dim morning day. The air was crisp and the sky was cloudy, just a small taste of the winter weather inside Camp Half Blood. I had been playing around with Lucas Cashier for awhile when out of no where Reeves Seveer marched up to me._

_ He had ruined my carefree morning when he grabbed my shoulder and whipped me around to face him, his bloodshot eyes holding anger and resentment. "I know you did it! Admit it, Selene! I know it was you who pranked me!"_

_ I stopped in my tracks and looked at him. The Red Haired Lazy Leprechaun of Camp. I had to kneel down to be face to face with him. "I haven't done anything." I said boldly. I didn't even know what he was talking about. "What's your problem Seveer?" _

_ This only made Reeves madder. "Oh I'll show you what's my problem asshole!" He grabbed my auburn hair like how an angry mother would punish a child and yanked me toward the Hermes cabin. I yelped and sent a message to my wolf Eclipse, who was sitting on the Hermes cabin porch. Without a second ticking by he had already caught up to us and was ready for a fight.  
_

_ Eclipse glided up toward the leprechaun and jumped onto his chest, all of us knocked down to the cold grass. Reeves made a loud "oof!" sound as the wind escaped from his lungs and into the cold breezy air. Eclipse then boldly walked on his collarbone, the white furred animal showing off his beautiful fangs and majestic 40 pound body. I would've beamed in pride at Eclipse if that Reeves kid hadn't started crying like a little kid. _

_ "I'm so tired of this!" the Leprechaun screamed. "I'm so tired of you people hurting me and making my life miserable!" He fearlessly knocked Eclipse off and rolled over, standing up abruptly just as I did. A tiny bronze blade slipped out of his pocket and was thrown at Eclipse, stabbing my wolf in the shoulder. The animal made no sound as he fell down. _

_ I screamed and ran to Eclipse when Reeves pulled out another weapon: A gun. He aimed it at me and shouted for me to stay where I was. I stopped in my tracks as though an invisible force had slammed into my body. I didn't want to get shot. I'd had such a rough history with guns that seeing one again made unexpected water prickle in my eyes. Through the tears and past the gunman, I gazed at Eclipse solemnly. Was he dead? Was my best friend gone forever? _

I'm okay.

_I felt the message more than heard it. Eclipse and I could communicate telepathically, send messages across the mind field. I chocked with relief when I realized at he was breathing slowly on the ground with the bronze dagger still edged in his fur. He was even laying behind Reeves and out of his sight. Without a word an Apollo kid bundled him up in her arms and silently carried him to the infirmary. She left me behind with a glance of worry. I stared after her astonished. _

_ I turned back to Reeves, I could see the desperate madness etched in his eyes."Please don't shoot me." I whimpered. _

_ Without a word, Lucas became my own personal shield. He had been watching the entire thing in shock when his brain finally started working again. He spread his arms out as though it was a friendly gesture. Calmly he took a step toward the red head, not wanting to alarm him. "No need for that man. Guns do nothing but kill people." He sounded like he knew that from experience. "Just put the gun down." _

_ Reeves had tears prickling down his face, his entire complexion a color that matched his hair. "Shut up Cashier! Shut up! I've taken nothing but crap from your group for years! Its you guys who make this place horrible for me by pulling all these pranks and bullying me into near depression!" He gripped the gun tighter, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. _

_ Lucas and I shared a look. We'd never really talked much to Reeves. He was just another camper in the cabin, a nameless face that we went to lunch and dinner with. How could it be that he blamed us for hurting him? _

_ But then I thought about how often Travis and Connor would tease him, calling him a soulless ginger and vicious little leprechaun. I remember how Ethan would ignore him at sword training practice, reject him as a training partner because his height was an obvious disadvantage for him. And then I remember Chris hurting him too; Kicking him in the gut when he wouldn't get up for dinner after an all day nap. "The entire cabin has to go. Now get your lazy ass up and move it!" I bit my lip and immediately felt bad for this boy. He was just trying to fit in... But when the entire cabin was already on his bad side he was at an obvious endpoint. _

_ By now a crowd had started to gather; everybody silent as the scene unfolded. From behind Reeves I could see my other family members: Lee, Adam, Chris, Ethan, Aly, Beckendorf (not to mention that stupid Aphrodite girl who kept sending glances his way), and Malcolm. I wanted to scream at them to help, to keep that gun away from me. They stood silent watching. It seemed as if my mouth became full of sand when I tried to speak. I was so horrified.  
_

_ If only Connor and Travis were here though. They knew how scared I was of guns. They were there when we were caught in the middle of a gang shooting back in our street years. They were there when I had my first experience with guns.  
_

_All of a sudden I wished Chiron was here. He would protect me. Even if he made me uncomfortable.  
_

_"Reeves, you know that we never tried to hurt you. Selene and I have nothing done anything to hurt you." Lucas used his hands as he talked, edging his way closer and closer to the distressed boy. "We would never do anything to you okay?" _

_ The little boy's hand trembled, his finger caught behind the trigger. "That's just the problem Lucas." His voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper. "You guys did nothing to hurt me, but you also did nothing to stop it. You watched while I was bullied and teased and pranked. You laughed along with every little joke about me and never bothered to stop the harassment that you all witnessed." _

_ I broke down in sobs. Guilty as charged._

_ "Just hear me out though man." Lucas said, his voice was quivering slightly. How nervous was he? _

_ Lucas was so close to Reeves now, just a few steps from arm reaching distance. If he got shot it would be because of point blank bullets. I sucked in a breath. _

_ "Just because you've been hurt by other people doesn't mean that you should hurt them back." Lucas spoke gently. He took a step closer. Please don't let him get shot... _

_ "What do you know? You're nothing but a softy who sleeps in the same bed with a British slut!" Reeves flinched his gaze toward me, one eye still trained on the boy with baby blue eyes. _

_ My face flushed beet red. Yes, Lucas and I slept in the same bed in the cabin, but that didn't mean that we _did _anything in it. We just slept together because of lack of space and well, if you could cram two bodies into a sleeping quarter then why not? The Hermes cabin was crowded enough as it is, so then what's the problem with that? Its not like Lucas and I would never __act on anything... _

_ "There's much more to me than you think." Lucas said slowly. He hesitated for a moment. "Before I came and to Camp and met my street family, I... I was an abused child." _

_ A couple of a people shared glances. Lee, Ethan, Chris, and Beckendorf. The original members of the street family. They frowned like they knew something, shared a secret made by Lucas. There was pounding in my chest like a drum waiting to break. Was this how a person felt before they were about to be betrayed and made vulnerable?_

_ "Wh-when I lived with my mom and step dad..." Lucas' voice quivered. This was hard for him to talk about. "They... they beat me. They hit me, slapped me, jerked me around." He winced as if remembering the pain. His arm gave a slight twitch. "I remember once my step-dad hit me with a baseball bat 'til my forearm and shoulder bone broke... afterward my mom then pushed me down the stairs." _

_ I stopped crying and looked at Lucas. He was bold, admitting such a thing out loud where everyone could hear. But was he making it up? Was he lying? The worried faces and pinched eyebrows of my street family said he wasn't. _

_ I gasped quietly. How could Lucas have lived all of this without telling me? We were best friends, more than that maybe. We were _family_. How can admit that now, after so long of being together as street children? I glanced at Chris, who was closest to Lucas after me, to confirm if it was true. The Hispanic nodded solemnly as if he could read my thoughts. _

_ "I may not have had it like you were my life was socially ruined, but damn..." Lucas rattled his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "But my family tried to keep me out of the social world as much as possible that when the paparazzi-" he stopped. He was telling too much. He bit his lip and glanced around anxiously. Has other people heard that? "When the _pizza place_ found me hurt, they took me to my parents who almost killed me for being out in public." _

_ Suspicious whispers stirred up among the crowd. They had heard Lucas say paparazzi like I did, what did that mean? What else was that boy hiding? What else was he keeping from me? _

_ "So you see Reeves..." Lucas tried to stroll up as causally as possible to him, laying a soft hand on his shoulder. "We're more alike than you think. But you know what?" _

_ Reeves had been crying the entire time, furious tears and anxious sweat beads rolling down his face that he kept on brushing them away with the sleeves of his sweater. The gun was lowered slightly, but it was still loaded __and pointing at me. I should have crawled away then while Reeves was distracted, run away and hide until the coast was clear. But I was stuck. I was mesmerized. How could I run and hide from this? From this... from this _moment_? _

_ "W-what Lucas?" Reeves stammered. He licked his lips and flickered them everywhere. At the people standing around, at me, at Lucas, at the clouds in the heavens that he wanted to go to. He was looking everywhere but at the weapon in his hand. I gulped. _

_ "But you have to forgive." Lucas whispered the words so that Reeves could only hear. "You have to learn to live and let go. You may not have to forget what they did, but you certainly have to forgive. How else are you gonna be able to live without that burden of the past hanging on your shoulders?" _

_ Reeves stared at Lucas. For a second I thought he was going to turn on him, switch his agenda and aim the gun at Lucas instead of me. I waited in the silence of a ticking clock moment. _

_ "One day." Reeves mumbled seriously. He unloaded the gun and tucked it in his pocket. He didn't dare take his eyes of Lucas. "One day I'll forgive." _

_ The depressed little leprechaun of Camp Half Blood ran off into the words, people watching him go. He was never seen again. _

_**)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(**__  
_

"Whats going on you guys? Where are we going?" James and Mary had dragged me away from sword training practice to the east side of the ship, into an area that half bloods were forbidden to go into. I struggled against their tight grips and fought, my mind panicking on what to do. What if they had found out who I really was? What if they were going to lock me up? Or worse, what if they knew about my powers?

I squirmed against them, figuring out that maybe there were things going on on this ship that not even Luke knew about. "Let go of me!" I snapped.

"Not yet, Victor." Mary said. She yanked me into a dark room, James bringing up the rear. "First we have to do some stuff." She said suspiciously.

Stuff? Seriously? Now she was playing mystery games with me?

One of my secrets powers is being able to see in the dark, no amount of black nights catching me by surprise. But this sure did. The room they led me into was small, bleak and gray like the rooms police use to interrogate criminals. In the middle there was a a small chair with a teenager in it. He was tied up, a bag over his face, and unconscious. What was going on?

"The hell..?" I whispered.

James locked the door behind us and shot me a look, Mary letting go of my wrist and fishing something out of her pocket.

I growled at them and kept my distance. "You guys better be playing cause in no bloody way is this-"

Mary held up a silver handgun, her finger behind the trigger and barrel pointing straight at my face.

_"Bloody hell!_ What kind of sick joke is this?" I yelped and scrambled back, eying the weapon cautiously. "If you hate me enough to shoot me you at least ought to do it off the ship where no one will hear you _goddammit!_"

Mary surprised me. She laughed. Damn, straight up laughed in my face while pointing a gun at me. If looks could kill, mine was a mass murder.

"Idiot, we're not here to kill you." She drew her slick words like ribbons flying against my skin. I shivered. "You're here to kill _him_." Mary gestured toward the boy sitting in the chair, her dark hair flying in his direction. She put down the gun and threw it at me, my hands shaking as I caught it gracefully.

"We need to know if we can trust you." James said. He walked up to me and put a hand to my shoulder. A brother to brother look in his eyes as he pitied me. "You haven't done your oath to Kronos yet and so the band needs to know if we can count on you in case something happens. So shoot this boy and be one of us, or don't shoot him and be kicked off the ship."

"Lucn is in on this?" I blurted. "And Molly and Jolene? They knew all about this the entire time?" I looked from left to right at James and Mary, not believing my eyes. "The _entire freaking band_ all knew you were making me do this?"

Mary pinched her lips together, shifting hr weight. "Of course not." She sauntered up to me in her high heeled cowboy boots, running a hand through my hair as she whispered in my ear. "And don't you _dare_ mention any of this to sweet little Molly or you'll be the one getting shot next time."

A shiver crawled down my back. I nodded nervously.

"Good. Now James, won't you be a gentleman and walk me out the door? We need to leave poor Victor and the victim alone." Mary flashed that cherry lipstick smile, James solemnly nodding and leading her out.

"Don't hesitate." James warned. "Its so much harder to do it when you hesitate."

And then they were out the door, locking me inside with the poor tied up boy. He was still passed out, the bag over his face hiding his identidy. Everything was quiet for a moment while I stood, feeling the dreaded weight of the gun in my hand. I couldn't even believe that I was touching the weapon. I mean I can handle daggers, swords, bow and arrows, but never any modern type weapons like guns. They weren't carried around at Camp or on the Princess, never even thought about being used because they were so... foreign. It was just not in the heritage and culture of half bloods to use such a mortal designed weapon.

I thought about the times I've had encountered guns, all of the situations reminding me of how many close calls I've had with losing my life. All those scenes showed little innocent me, Helia Selene Neoma, on the other end of a barrel. Now look at me. Four years later at the age of sixteen under the disguise of Victor Wolfbane: an unclaimed obvious son of Nike. How the hell did I end up like this?

A moan from the boy in the chair woke me from my thoughts. I panicked but took a deep breath and lifted the gun up with trembling hands. I was determined to do this. I was determined to win the trust of the band, to prove my loyalty to Kronos and to kill this person. But then... but then something happened.

The boy stifled a groan and rolled his head down so the bag over his head fell. I gasped and took a step back when I saw his face.

"Reeves Seveer." I whispered.


	5. Stab Me, Shoot Me, Just Don't Kill Me

_Tick, tock. Tick, tock. _

Reeves didn't say anything and neither did I; the clock in the corner of the room spoke for us. We just stared at each other. He could register that I was an enemy, and for all he knew, I was the one who had tied him up. Though I bet it was the gun to his face that alerted the panicked squirrel inside him to wake up.

"Somebody help me!" He wailed. His wrists and legs wore against the rope holding them down, purple and red markings on his skin. I winced when I realized that he was bleeding from his arms and under his shirt. Mary and James must have done something to him before they tied him down. "Let me go you-!"

"They're not going to help you." I stated bluntly. I kept my gun up and studied this boy. Out of all people, why_ him_? He was never a loyal Camper. He was just a loner. "Everybody on this ship is against you, can't you see? You're the enemy. _Nobody_'s going to save you."

The boy stopped struggling and gaped at me. Could he recognize Selene under Victor's disguise? I bit back a sigh of relief when he began to cry instead; silent tears dripping like a faucet that had a rusty leak. "Wh-what are you going to do to me?"

I smirked. He was so pathetic. Defeated and vulnerable, just sitting there like a beaten puppy. If this was four years ago it would've been me crying under his gaze. Not the other way around. But in a disturbing thought, I empathized with him. I didn't want him to feel the way I did when he tried to kill me. Was I a weak person for feeling like that?

"Reeves Seever, the unclaimed obvious child of Hecate." I played with the words, rolling out the pronunciations like some British con artist. "You lived at Camp Half Blood for six years until you ran away at the age of 13."

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" He tried again to slip out of his binds; his wrists bleed faster.

I went on. "You held two kids, Selene Mays and Lucas Cashier, at gun point threatening to lynch them. Instead you _shot _a wolf named Eclipse and escaped into the Camp woods." His face was a kaleidescope of changing colors: Pale white, shocked pink, angry red. I grinned and sauntered up behind him, laying my hands and gun at his shoulders. "Nobody's seen you since that day. There were no sightings of you, no more people saying the latest joke about you. The only thing you left behind were bloody rumors and gossip lies concerning where you are and why."

_Tick tock. Tick tock._

"Tell me Leprechaun, where have you been this entire time? Where have you been hiding for the last four years? And _why_?" I cocked the gun and let the barrel tip touch his shoulders, just a light feathery sensation to send a shiver down his spine.

"_Look_," he tried to sound calm. Cool. Content. I knew from years of watching him at Camp that he was screaming on the inside. "You can stab me, shoot me, just don't kill me. I beg you please."

I pressed the gun barrel deeper into his shoulder blades, Reeves sitting forward as far away as he could."I can't guarantee that lad."

_Tick, tock. Tick, tock. _

He didn't say anything until I detected distant mumbling, sudden pains digging into my skull as he used a spell on me. I yelped and stumbled back, clutching my head and gasping. My vision danced around me, the world stuck in a colorless blur as I gripped on to sanity. What was happening? What magic was he using on me? The sharp pains in my head, the throbbing that brought me to my knees... What was it? What was he trying to do?

_"Με τη μαγεία της Εκάτης μου δείξεις ποιος είσαι!" _Reeves shouted the last words and I stumbled on the ground, my gun naked on the floor nearby.

I could sense, no, literally _feel _Reeves digging into my mind. His presence was like an invader in my sanctuary. I fought back hard against him, trying to throw up mental walls and whatever protective magic I knew. But Reeves was too strong, he wasn't the weak little kid I knew anymore. That Lazy Red Haired Leprechaun of Camp was now a mind bearing powerful warlock. I hated him with every fiber of my being.

"Let's see who you are now..." Reeves mentally rushed into my head, picking out memories like the petals on a flower.

_Living in an orphanage in the midst of London. Running around the streets of New York. Coming to Camp Half Blood for the first time. Laughing with my friends. Hunting with Eclipse. Snogging Lucas. _

Reeves dug deeper. I had heard the gasp in his voice when he realized I was Selene, but that didn't satisfy him. He couldn't just know who I was, he had to know what secrets I kept locked away. He was crawling into my mind for my most buried memories and secret moments. Mentally I pushed him out only to be defeated and stumbling back.

_The goddess glowered at me, her complexion a mirror image of mine. She had a bow and arrow in hand, her silvery golden eyes flickering to Eclipse laying on the sand in front of me. The goddess smirked. _

_ "Of course," Artemis said. "Out of all the companions you have, you choose the off spring of a disloyal wolf who decided to mate and conceive. You are no daughter of mine Helia Selene Neoma." _

I screamed out loud. No, no, no! He couldn't look at that memory! He couldn't know!

_The goddess knocked her bow and arrow, directing its silver point at my injured guardian. He was beaten and defeated, crimson blotches staining his fur. My mouth let out an ear shattering shriek and I bolted for Eclipse. All I wanted was for him to survive, he couldn't die because of me. I wouldn't let him. _

_ One second too late and Artemis had already pulled back her arrow. She unlocked her fingers without a blink, the weapon sweeping into the flesh of Eclipse's chest before I could shield his body. The wolf let out one whimper and exploded into gold dust, the tiny particles landing in my hair and on my face. _

_ "No. _No_." I breathed. "NO!" Tears blurred my vison and my breath got lost in the atmosphere.__ My knees collapsed on the spot where the wolf was just moments ago. _ I scrambled my hands throughout the sand and soaked my fingers in white earth that was marred red. How could have this happened? Eclipse was just right here. _He couldn't be gone forever. He just couldn't. He still had to be here! _

_ "Stop it, you're getting dirty." The moon goddess spat. _

_ I snapped my head at her. She'd just murdered my best friend and the only bloody thing she could think about was my damn _cleanliness? _Damn it all! _

_ "You foul, wicked, filth!" I screamed so loud the birds from the forest nearby flew away in the opposite direction of the Camp beach. "You terrible, wretched, horrid excuse of a mother! How could you! How could you kill an innocent life! You should have never been born!" _

_ Artemis stayed erect in a poise of silence, her poker face loathing my being by the seconds. When she spoke it was like listening to a fairytale monster: Patient and waiting for the kill."You should have never been born ether my sweet daughter. You're a forbidden child, Helia. You should not be aloud to live. You do not even know how much trouble you have caused me and my reputation." _

_ "Me? Look at what you have done yourself!" I held up my hands at her, letting the fresh blood of Eclipse splatter on her face. "You killed a defenseless creature and proved that you are nothing but a selfish deity!" _

_ "I only did what was best. I could not leave any witnesses behind." She grinned like serpent, shadows playing with the moonlight around us. "That would have been sloppy work wouldn't it?" __The wind tossed her hair from side to side, giving her a louder aura of mystery and dishonor; like a vile witch waiting to curse your life. I shuddered. _  


_ My face paled. The wind stopped blowing and sucked all of the air from my lungs, my voice box not even catching one last word to scream out._

_ I clutched my throat in desperation, struggling to break her chocking spell . Furious tears streamed down my face while I gazed at her: The goddess who was supposedly my patron. The goddess who was supposedly my mother. The goddess who was supposedly going to kill me just like she how she killed my best friend. _

Damn you! _I screamed in my head. _Damn you and all the gods!

_The goddess smiled. Olympians had a knack for reading minds. _

_ "I've been waiting to do this since first day you were born." Artemis knocked her bow and arrow, her face concentrated in a perfect aim to my heart. The arrow was pulled back further, just a millisecond before losing my life. "You were lucky to have been protected by Apollo this entire time. Its taken me years to finally track you down with his misguiding spells." _

_ My vision was swimming, I would black out soon. If I could just do something... If I could just save myself... _

_ "I hope you enjoy a peaceful eternity in Tartarus, my forbidden daughter of night and day." Artemis unlaced her fingers from her weapon and the last thing I saw was my wicked mother trying to kill me in the name of the Olympians. _

"Hey! What's going on in there!" A loud rumble behind the door jolted Reeves away from his memory expedition. He scrambled out of my head and glanced everywhere, panicked chicken with its head cut off. I let out a gasp when he set me free of the mind control, my hands body trembling and crying. The sharp pains in my head subsided but my vision just as blurry as it was all those years ago when Artemis tried to kill me. Every thing else that happened was just a blur.

Mary and James rushing into the room. Reeves staring at me horrified. My finger slipping behind the trigger of the nearby gun.

Mary's voice: "What happened?

James' voice: "Victor are you okay?"

Reeves' voice: "Victor? That's not Victor that's-"

The loud bang of the gunshot.

The eerie silence of the moment before timing out.

_Tick, tock. Tick tock. Tick, tock_. _Tick... tock. _

_**Review! You guys said you want to know Selene's parentage? Well there's **_**part of it**


	6. Hello Hell Long Time No See

**Okay I know I'm late on this one but bare with me please? I tried to get this chapter just right but ug! I feel like I'm losing my writing talent. I keep on getting the feeling that there's something I'm doing wrong with this piece of writing but I can't put my finger on it... somebody help me please? I need thou writing wisdom to come at thee! XD **

**-Emmi **

On my hands and knees, staring at the blank floor of a dark room. A splash of blood dripped down my cheek into a red puddle. My hand smeared the liquid and I gazed at it blankly, hyperventilating when the realization slapped me: The blood wasn't mine. It was Reeves.

Slowly but surely, James bent down and plucked a silver handgun from my fingers; no response when I looked at him with wild eyes. _What have I just done? _I wanted to ask, but I didn't trust my voice. Sand seemed to have magically appeared and made my mouth dry.

"Its okay, Victor." Mary knelt down to put a hand on my shoulder, eyebrows bunched together. "You... You k-killed the boy." Her voice was muffled, quiet panic clouded in her words. But what was that in her eyes? The way she looked at me? Was it... _Pride?_ "You're an official soldier of Kronos now... Y-you have received his blessing of tougher skin and a stronger mind. I hope this braces you for what's to come later in the war." She said it like a rehearsed quote, a script line she had been fed when she had been in my shoes. Already the human side of me was tempted to punch that bitch.

_You killed the boy. _That was what she said. _The boy. _The half blood. The son of Hecate. The innocent life that never deserved to be at the opposite end of a barrel. Gods what kind of monster am I now? I didn't even shoot him to earn Kronos' blessing. I did it to keep my damn secret!

Mary gave me her hand and helped me up. There, I could smell the scent of her shampoo: Roses. Sweet, bitter lasting red roses that were made for a funeral which Reeves would never get. My heart squeezed when I realized that Mary was only being nice to me because I was now traumatized and a murderer.

"You okay?" She asked when I stumbled.

I nodded and avoiding looking at the dead body in the room.

"Let's get you cleaned up and to your dorm." James put a hand on my back and led me out the door because I didn't trust myself to walk straight. My hands were still shaking and the warm blood running down my face made my heart thump to the pace of a runner's pulse.

Pushing away the tempt of one last look at Reeves, I shut my eyes and blocked out the sound of the gunshot echoing in my mind. The sound of _my _gun shooting Reeves. I blocked out his face picture of a frightened animal, the way he almost gave away my identity. Was killing him really worth keeping my secret?

Yes. It was. Thinking back to the scenes he plucked from my memory, I was glad he didn't see the rest. Chaos would have erupted if he knew what I could do.

_ "I've been waiting to do this since first day you were born." Artemis knocked her bow and arrow, her face concentrated in a perfect aim to my heart. The arrow was pulled back further, just a millisecond before losing my life. "You were lucky to have been protected by Apollo this entire time. Its taken me years to finally track you down with his misguiding spells." _

_ My vision was swimming, I would black out soon. If I could just do something... If I could just save myself... _

_ "I hope you enjoy a peaceful eternity in Tartarus, my forbidden daughter of night and day." Artemis unlaced her fingers from her weapon and the last thing I saw was my wicked mother trying to kill me in the name of the Olympians. _

_ The arrow laced itself in my chest and I gasped, invisible forces chocking away any screams. There was a nanosecond when I could actually feel myself die; Where I could sense my spirit dig out of my body and drown to the Underworld. But no matter how much the term "instant death" means to you, there's no such thing as a motorway to Hades. _

_ Because if there was, then I wouldn't be alive today. _

_ You see, when you're a special demigod who's the daughter of Artemis and has the life blessing of Apollo, you tend to do the unthinkable. When the goddess's arrow had pierced itself in my body, I had given myself a second to heat the weapon with solar energy. A.K.A: Apollo's aura of healing. _

_ So instead of killing me in one second, the arrow simply sliced through my body as though I were made out of Jello and plucked itself into the tree behind me. It had left no blood, no scars, no evidence that anything had ever happened. For a second even I couldn't believe that it had happened, that_ I _had done that. But what can you deny when the evidence is screaming at you in the face? _

_ I had narrowly escaped death; literally gotten my life back before it could crawl to the Underworld. If I could do that to myself, could I do that for other people? Could I make sure everybody cheated death just like I had? Kronos would have my neck if I could. He would haunt me, torture me into protecting the Army so that no one could ever die when we fought against the Olympians. _

_ But for how long would I be able to do protect demigods? I've heard stories of half bloods using so much of their powers that they crossed their limits and instantly died. If that happened to me then I would fail the Army. They would be relying on me for full invincibility and then be killed if I couldn't hold my ground. No matter how much I cared about people, letting them down was not something I was going to do. I was not going to let people use me as a solar armor shield because I would let them down eventually. _

_ I'd have to die before anybody ever found out what I could do. _

I decided to hide my face and declare Helia Selene Neoma dead: **Daughter of Artemis, Killed By Her Mother**, would be what my tombstone said. I even made sure that the gods thought I was gone. I hid my prescence from Apollo, never saw Artemis again, and for all I knew, Chiron must think I've perished too. The hardest thing to do was never even say goodbye.

Not to Eclipse. Not to my family. Not even to Thalia's Pine Tree. I just ran from Camp Half Blood that night and was seen again by anybody.

On December 31st was then when Victor Wolfbane was born. The same day as Selene's birthday... and death.

The only regret was never saying goodbye to Eclipse. Gods... He deserved much more than I ever gave him.

Ages later and years wiser, I'm more guilty of never saying goodbye to Reeves when I killed him. As a murderer, as you even supposed to feel some sort of remorse for the departed?

I had just literally let myself shut the door on the son of Hecate and let a bullet in his body do its magic. Anyone who had a underground lies might as well just carry a gun now. Just like bullets, secrets can come out without meaning to.

Let's just hope it doesn't stay that way.

**Review people! Free cookie if you do! (::) (::) (:::)  
**


	7. Talk To Me, Please

"You know it was for your own good right?" James blurted.

I'd been in the sword arena the entire time, clumsily fighting with anger and frustration. Behind me a dozen dummies had already been perished and decapitated. Luke would probably scold me later for wasting such training equipment, but I went on with slashing the practice straws.

"We had to do it to you. Mary and I... Lucn insisted that we had to make sure we could trust you to not get us killed in battle. Doing that test to you... it was the only thing we were able to do. Victor, are you even listening to me?"

I grunted, swinging my sword toward the abdomen of another dummy. It sliced in half without a second. "Leave me alone." I growled.

"Victor, we have to talk about this. What happened yesterday? In the room when we told you to kill-"

"I said leave me alone!" My sword tip danced around and met the apple of James' neck. He crossed his eyes and froze like stone on winter's night. I held my breath and counted to ten, calming down and turning back to my training. "Just go away James."

Footsteps. The scratching of metal. Running. The dummy in front of me cut in half by sword fighter James Walsh. "Stop being a baby." He spat. "Man up and talk to me about it."

My fist tightened around my sword and I lunged, challenging James on a one on one spar. He was ready and our weapons caught in midair, both of our muscular arms rippling at the veins.

"What you had me do was inhumane." I chocked out. I made a swipe for his legs.

James backed away in time and headed for my chest. "Demigods _have _to be inhumane. Its what sets us apart from the mortals."

I sidestepped and kicked him in the side. He refused to double over and clutch his stomach. "No. What sets us apart is that we're _better. _We're children of the gods for crying out loud! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"No! The gods don't even claim us so why should we care about being their children?" James high kicked me and I stumbled back, my bottom crashing on the floor and weapon dropped somewhere. No squeal came out when the cold metal of my opponent's sword touched my neck. "Dude, what's your problem anyway? It's just a freaking boy that you killed. He should mean nothing to you!"

Chest rising and falling. Eyebrows scrunched and tired. Eyes aching and desolate.

"Oh my gods." James pulled back his sword and let it clatter to the ground. He stared at me with olive eyes that would never understand. "You knew that boy didn't you? The kid that you were told to kill... You knew him!"

I rolled on to my side and stood up, walking past him without a glance. "His name was Reeves Seever. We shared a cabin at Camp Half Blood."

"Were you two close?"

"No."

James followed me to pick up my sword. I put it away hastily. "What happened in the room then? When you tried to kill Reeves?"

I made my way out of the sword arena and toward the dorm hall. "He's a powerful son of Hecate." I stated bluntly. "What the hell do you _think _that bastard tried to do to me?"

James stared at me for a moment. I looked away. "He read your mind didn't he? That's what Jolene used to be able to do; read minds I mean."

I cocked an eyebrow. Ginger haired Jolene was a daughter of Hecate? Were all red heads witches then? Whatever. "Yeah. Reeves dug into my mind and sucked out all my memories He looked at all my weakest moments and discovered my secrets. I had to shoot him when he got close to discovering my fatal flaw." Lie.

"I'm sorry." James voice was so small he was almost timid. Almost. "At least it wasn't traumatizing."

"You _think_?" I whipped around with an irritated face, stopping him in his puny tracks. "You think having to kill someone after you witness them being bullied for years is not traumatizing? You think having two people push a gun into your hands and tell you to kill an innocent life is not traumatizing? You think having someone pick into your head, discover all your secrets and make you relive all of your most agonizing moments and feel all of the painful emotions you tried so hard to push away is _not traumatizing_?! _Damn_ Walsh! You got a nice definition of traumatized there."

James gaped at me, mouth open. He blinked for a moment and found someway to regain his virtue. "Okay, fine." He grunted. "Yes we made you go through that. We made you feel pain, loss, and devastation just for the sake of the Army. And you know what's the worst part? The thing that we took away the most?"

"The fact that I wasn't a murderer?" I spat. "The idea that I've never killed someone? The truth that _I don't kill blameless lives_?"

"No. Your _innocence_." James burst out. He pointed a finger at my chest. "We made you give up all those things so that we would finally dig deep enough to take away your rotten, good for nothing innocence. And you know why we did that? Why he needed that?"

"Earning trust is not worth taking away innocence." I hissed.

"It wasn't because of that." He flicked the hair out of his eyes and I could finally see his upper face. I could finally see the deep white scar running across his eyes and nose, the battle wound that marked those olive green irises for life. "We did it because like it or not, you're gonna have to do it again. You, Victor Wolfbane, are going to have to kill hundreds of more half bloods when we go to war against the Olympians. You're going to have to see your old friends and family again on the battle field and this time they won't be so friendly. You'll have to kill them and maim them and this situation with Reeves was just a practice run for when we finally hit the flames. The real run starts when dynamite is finally set to Camp Half Blood. So get a grip Victor and come to terms with it. You. Are. A. Murderer. Live with it!"

James Walsh walked out on me and I was left alone. Solitude in my own thoughts has never felt so much like prison.

**)()***************()(**

_Knock, knock. _"Can I come in?" Female voice. Soft and sweet. Pitch perfect.

Dorm door closed. Eyes making sure its lock was in place. "No." I said.

Picking of metal, knob turning. Red headed, emerald eyed, freckle faced Jolene. Daughter of Hecate. _Reeves half sister. _

"Whoa, whoa!" I said, standing up from my bed and walking up to the girl. "_Not _cool lass. Get out!"

"Sorry I couldn't help but to let myself in." Jolene held up a bronze key that slightly shimmered in the light. "Magic items always have their quirks don't they?" She smiled, her eyes scrunching up from her high cheekbones. She still had that twelve year old face on a teenage body.

I raised my eyebrows. "You have a magic key?"

Jolene flipped her hair. "It unlocks any and every door. Pretty handy when you're trying to invade someone's privacy." She stretched a smirk. Ha. Ha.

My mouth twitched in a sarcastic smile. "Nifty toy you have then."

Jolene grinned. It was weird seeing her happy without the need of a wine bottle. Demigods can't get drunk off alcohol, but they can from grapes or wine. (Hence the fact why we grew strawberries at Camp, not grapes.) "You didn't come to band practice today. I was sent to check on you." The red head excused herself to a seat on my bed, fingering the bedspread idly. I blushed when she caught sight of wolf Pillow Pet.

"Yeah, well, I'm fine." I tried to hide my pink cheeks and nodded toward the door. "So you can leave now."

"It doesn't work that way Victor." Jolene lowered her tone. She flickered her finger at the door and it magically slammed shut. The clicking of the locks told me that we were trapped. I tried unlocking it but the knob wouldn't budge. The witty witch imprisoned me inside my own sanctuary.

"How does this work then?" I leaned against the door with my arms crossed. "You tell me how we're going to play this game so that I can get it over with and slam your ass out of my room."

"'Slam my ass' out of the room?" Jolene tilted her head. She smirked. "Is that your British way of saying you're going to bang me?"

"What? Gods no!" I threw my hands in the air and looked around. What was wrong with this lady? "Its a way of saying-"

"Calm down Victor, geez." She tossed a pillow at me and I deflected it. "I was just joking. You got to lighten up man."

I snorted. "Yeah well we all know how that works after killing someone."

"Oh yeah I heard about that." Jolene leaned back on her arms and crossed her legs. She grinned like she was proud of me. "So how do you feel about killing your first life?"

"You mean other than lied to, cheated, and deceived?" I narrowed my eyes, radiating my best 'I hate you' glare. "I'm just peachy thank you."

She rolled her eyes. "You'll get used to it _Wolfbane_."

'Used to it_?'_ Gods dammit. "What makes you think I'll get used to it, _sorcière_?"

Jolene rolled her eyes. She was getting good at being patient with me. "Because if Mary, Lucn, and I got used to it, then so can you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She crossed her arms. "Didn't they tell you anything about what happened to them?"

What did she mean? "They haven't told me anything."

Jolene closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She locked eyes with me, blazing emerald green meeting artificial forest brown. I sobered up. "What I am about to tell you Victor, you cannot tell anybody. You have to swear on the River Styx that you will keep this a secret."

I gulped. "I swear."

Jolene leaned forward and kept her voice low. Chills crawled down my back when I realized how serious this could be. "Lucn was the second one of the band to come to the Princess. He was eleven when it happened, and he came with his little sister Lola.

"Now Lola was severely disabled. She was schizophrenic and got really bad delusions like every other day, not to mention the voice inside her head that nobody could even begin to understand. Lola would attack other soldiers thinking they were monsters and she'd have to be tranquilized for the safety of the crew. She'd poison food, maim soldiers, even set herself on fire. All because the voices told her to do it. Lucn would try and get Lola on meds to stabilize her mental condition... but it just got so bad that he was debating on giving up Lola to a mental hospitals.

"Well before Lucn could decide to do anything for his sister, she went missing. Lucn just woke up one day and _poof._ She was gone. Rumor has it that Lola's insanity drove her to jump overboard into the sea; others say she was eaten by monsters on the ship. No sign of her appeared until Lucn had to do his test. The same one you did: Shooting a demigod. Only Lucn didn't have to kill a stranger.

"He had to murder his sister."

_The gun was glued to his hand, Lucn's wild blueberry eyes open wide in astonishment. He couldn't stop his trembling hands and ragged breathing. I wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was alright. 'You killed the demigod.' I wished I could say. 'You're a soldier of Kronos now. Congratulations.' _

_ Instead I stayed silent behind the unclaimed child. _

_ "Jolene." Luke locked eyes with me. "Take the body and throw it into __the sea. Report back to me when you're done." _

_ I bowed my head. "Yes sir." _

_ Luke guided Lucn out of the room and far away from the corpse. The glassy eyed look on Lucn's face couldn't have said it better: 'I'm scarred for life.' _

_ Once they were gone I took a deep breath and started for the dead half blood. The body in the chair was erect and covered with a burlap sack; a bloody bullet hole where its head was. You couldn't tell who it was when Lucn had to do his test. He just pulled the trigger in one swift motion and kept silent. _

_I was trying not to gag when I untied its dead limbs from the chair. _

Just one look_. I was tempted. _Just one simple look to see who it is...

_ Glancing left and right even though I was the only one in the room, I unmasked the dead stranger and nearly screamed: _

_ The dead eyes of schizophrenic Lola were staring back at me. _

"That's insane!" I blurted.

"Is it?" Jolene questioned. "What would you do, Victor? If you're only family was as mental as Lola? Would you keep up the blind hope knowing that she was forever a danger to herself and society? Or would you end her pain, finally strong enough to kill her, only when her death happened to your complete deception? You tell me." Jolene leaned back, her hair covering her blazing eyes. I was ready to slap her.

"But that's... that's wrong!" I argued. "Its sick and wrong and devastating and just plain inhumane!"

Jolene shrugged like it was no big deal. "We're half bloods. We're supposed to be inhumane. Its what sets us apart from the mortals."

That's exactly what James said.

"What happened then?" I asked. "Did Lucn find out that it was Lola?"

"Of course he did!" She said. "He caught me in the lie."

As much as I wanted to stay mad, I couldn't help but to feel sorry for the lad. I mean, having to kill someone is one thing. But when you find out later that it was your sister? Gods, how worse can it get?

"You should imagine what happened with Mary though." Jolene's voice was like ribbons: Brushing against your skin until they slithered around your neck and chocked you. I was that gripped.

"W-what happened with Mary?" I stammered. "How bad did it get? Did she have to kill her mum or something?"

Jolene scoffed and shook her head. She gazed at the wall, thinking far away. "No, it wasn't that bad. She just... had it rough:

"Before Mary and Molly had come to the Princess, their family life was devastating. The girl's had had an older brother, but they don't remember much about him. They also had a mum, though she was rarely home since she was a drug addict. One night when Mary and Molly were home alone, a monster came and attacked them. The girls got separated and well... Mary's life fell through the cracks.

"While Molly was safe in a neighboring foster home, Mary had been kidnapped by some folks in an infamous biker gang. She had served as their house slave for a year before the Latina managed to escape. When she did, she found Molly, figured that her mother and brother were dead by now, and the girls hitched a seat on the Princess. It doesn't end there though.

"You see, Mary is seriously protective of Molly. She wouldn't let anybody mess with her sister or train with her until Molly eventually confronted Mary about it. Before that though it was epic chaos of murderous glares from the girl. And well... of course Mary would be even more protective of Molly when their test came. So Mary tried to make a deal with Luke."

_"Let me take Molly's kill." Mary burrowed her eyes into blue eyed leader. She was putting up her best sympathetic face, her best tear gaze that said 'pity me.' "Molly can't handle killing a half blood. You have to let me do it for her. Please Luke." _

_ I stood silent in the corner of the room, watching this all happen. Molly and Mary were due to have their tests done tomorrow evening. How the word had gotten out to Mary, we had no idea. _

_ "I'm sorry Mary but no can do." Luke shoved the Latina out of the way and continued on the walk to his desk. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to interfere. "Just let it drop." _

_ "Please Luke!" Mary threw herself at the leader, nearly close enough for a kiss. Oh my gods if their lips smacked I was going to barf. _

_ "I'll do anything." Mary pleaded. "Anything, whatever you want. Just don't let Molly face something so horrible. I have to protect her from that!" _

_ Luke's nostrils flared. Ooh his patience was wearing thin. Run Mary, run! Before his tempter roars! _

_ I kept my mouth shut. _

_ "Get her out of here, Jolene." Luke shoved Mary in my arms. I caught her before she could fall. "Don't let me see her in my office again." _

_ "Yes sir." I responded. _

_ With one last dirty look at Luke, Mary obeyed and left. It was up to me to shove the door in her face as a message that she isn't welcome. _

_ Mary deflected the door with her foot and stood face to face with me. I gulped and wondered what harm she could inflect if she was this close. I still had no idea who her godly parent was and I wasn't willing to bet that she was some harmless child of Demeter. _

_ "I will find a way." Mary lowered her voice."Molly will _not _kill somebody. I'll find a way to do it for her if it's the last thing I do." _

_ "G-good luck then." I blurted. Gee, I sure sound fierce don't I? _

_ Mary scoffed. She looked me up and down and drew her voice to a whisper. "You don't have to follow Luke around like a lost puppy you know." She advised. "I know about your past Jolene. You don't have to always be in the shadow of a man, working as his slave and property. You can take care of yourself." _

_ I tried to keep the strain out of my voice. "I don't know what you're talking about." _

_ She snorted. "For a soulless ginger, you're a horrible liar." _

_ I slammed the door in her face. "So are you." I whispered. _

"So Mary ended up taking Molly's kill?" I guessed.

By now I was so deep in Jolene's story that I was laying down my bed, pillow in my arms, and looking up at her with round eyes. I felt like a little girl being told a bedtime story.

"We _think _Mary took Molly's kill." Jolene said. She kept her tone hushed. "But the band doesn't know for sure. I tried talking to the girls about it but the subject was quickly changed and I never got the chance again. Why? Do you think Molly killed someone or that Mary took double lives?"

I remembered when I'd done my test and how Mary threatened me about telling Molly. I sighed when I realized that Molly was still just as innocent as when she first boarded the ship. "Mary shot two bullets for two bodies." I stated. "That brave girl..."

Jolene scoffed. "Brave my ass! If Mary was really tough she'd suck it up and let Molly do her test. She'd be strong enough to watch her sister shoot somebody."

I shrugged. Jolene had a point. "What about you then? You said that your's, Mary's, and Lucn's were the worst. So what happened to you?"

Jolene got that deer in a headlights look and stood up abruptly. She stalked toward the door. "That's for me to know and you to never find out."

"Jolene no! Wait!" I chased after the red head but she had already unlocked the magic door and stepped out into the dorm hall. I called after her: "The boy I killed was your half brother you know!"

That got her to straighten up. She turned around on her heel and faced me, eyes blazing in panic. "Which half brother?" She said carefully.

"Well, who do you think?"

Whispers. "Was it... _Reeves_?"

Silence.

"Oh my gods..." Her face collapsed into her hands and she let out a sob. "It was him, wasn't it?"

I clenched my teeth and bit my tongue but I couldn't help it. As the duty of a moral half blood, it was my job to aid a demigoddess in despair.

I walked up to Jolene and wrapped an arm around her, careful to keep our chests from touching. "Yeah... it was Reeves. I... I killed him." It was strange saying it out loud. Compared to Mary and Lucn, my test had been a piece of cake. They're the ones who deserved to mourn over their kills. Not me. Guilt seeped onto my shoulders just like that.

Jolene quietly lifted up her head, fiery locks of hair framing her eyes. Her face was dry. "I'm not going to cry over Reeves... Its just... he was a good boy you know? A little troubled maybe... But he had it in him. Reeves was promising."

Uh huh. Reeves is promising as much as I am a male.

"How long did you know him?" I asked casually.

Jolene shrugged and wouldn't meet my eyes. "I ran away from Camp when I was twelve. Reeves was about eight back then."

I was ten when I met Reeves. He was eleven. Jolene didn't witness any of his bullying. Good grief. "He dug into my mind you know." I said blindly. I had been carrying that secret so heavily that I just needed someone to confide in. Someone I could _trust. _"Reeves... He looked at all my old memories and tried to get my secrets out of me."

Jolene's eyes went wide in disbelief. There was throbbing pain beginning to etch into my head and I pushed the girl away, backing against the wall. "Stop doing that!" I shouted. "Your brother already got into my head, not you too!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Jolene panicked and grasped her head, running her hands through her hair. "Sorry I just... I forgot that children of Hecate could do that. I forgot all about the little things we could do when we're not realizing it."

"You call mind reading 'little'?" I hissed.

Jolene shrugged, her distress now gone. "Mind reading, telekinesis, illusion bending; It all falls under the category of magic talents. Just depends on how strong your powers are on what you can do. No biggie."

Well that's a nice piece of information there isn't it? "So what can you do then?" My eyebrows twitched at this.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes playfully. "Well if I told you then it wouldn't be a secret now would it?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Touche..."

"I have to go." She began to turn away when I caught her arm. She pulled away.

"Wait." I insisted. "I want to know more about the Princess and the people here. Are you willing to come by tomorrow and talk to me?"

Jolene pursed her lips as though she had just eaten a sour lemon. Her teeth grounded against each other. "We'll see." She answered.

I watched her go, memorizing the bright red of her hair and tantalized way she carried herself. She reminded me so much of someone I knew... but I couldn't place my finger on it...

"You like her don't you?"

I turned around and found Molly standing behind me. She was carrying a bow and set of arrows. She looked like she'd just come back from archery practice and was heading to her dorm. I pushed away the thoughts of her Native American resemblance. "I guess..." I said. "Jolene's a good person."

Molly nodded, her eyes giving off an extra shine. "Oh... okay." She sounded hurt.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Okay..." I had no idea what to do. "I'll see you later then."

Molly was acting strange, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to get to the bottom of it. Its best to just turn a blind eye when it's needed.

Only a blind eye is what nobody wants.


	8. So What's a Trojan?

**This chapter involves some Rated T things. For you clean viewers, fair warning. For you dirty ones, sorry I disappointed you :P **

**-Emmi**

* * *

"Rodriguez!" A clinking of coins.

"Which one?" A bookie's words.

"The male." A deal set.

The boxing ring in the middle of the room taunted anyone who dared to step on and face their opponent. The bookmaker at the middle of the crowd was sweeping his eyes around everybody, setting the bets straight and approaching anyone who was busty about gambling. He met my eyes and the corners of his mouth twitched, nodding his head toward the ring. I frowned and shook my head. _I didn't want to fight_. I messaged back.

"Wow... this has been going on for how long?" Jolene gazed around the dark room and took in the scene: The fighting ring, the excited crowd, the boxers warming up for a round. She probably had never been to a rouge match like this. Especially not one with bare knuckled contestants competing in the basement of the Princess Andromeda. Luke would freak if he found out that this was happening right under his nose.

It was the Jolene and I's first time coming here, much after the bands' shock. James thought that Jolene should have come to these matches months ago, but since she's still hitting the grape juice, its everybody's surprise but mine that she's sober enough to comprehend what's going on. I only came because Lucn had dragged me out of my dorm from a week of constant moping. Go figure.

"Just a couple of months." From Jolene's other side Lucn was the go to guy for anything on what's taking place inside the Princess. He had connections with anybody and everybody. I was jealous on how easily he got along with people. Just a simple nod of the head or handshake of slaps and he was in with the crowd. Most people just ignore me.

"When the ship's basement had been cleared out and laid open to the demigods, we turned it into this underground fighting arena. Pretty cool huh?" Lucn did that twinkle in his eyes thing for when he's trying to swoon a lady with his good looks. Today it was aimed at little Miss Magic.

Out of the corner of my vision, Jolene blushed. She turned away quickly, hoping no one had noticed. Oh somebody must fancy the player with the blue berry eyes!

I snorted and turned away, stifling an awkward scowl and smirk. Couples and crushes were not my thing. Before I had left Camp, I had had only one lover: Lucas Cashier. He was a sweet, intelligent, little boy with hair like wheat and smiles that made your heart melt. We'd kissed before. Once. But that was a year ago. He's probably moved on already, rubbed noses with some desperate Aphrodite slut who has maybe crushed his heart by now. Ether way, I shouldn't care. Lucas is history. Right?

"So how does this boxing match go on anyway?" I asked, hoping to pop the image of Lucas out of my head before my heart squeezed. When sick of love, think of fighting. Its the second most exciting thing anyway.

I looked at Lucn for answers, but he shrugged.

"There are three, five minute rounds. You lose if you get knocked out before the fifteen minutes are up." Said a voice behind me.

I wiped around and was eye to eye with a hooded figure. Its smirk was the only thing visible on his dark face. Automatically I took a step back from the person. "Um, okay." I said. "Thanks for the info." Stranger danger much?

The hooded person shrugged and stepped closer. A gulp went down my throat when I realized that they were taller and more muscled. But then the scent slapped me: _Axe_. That deodorant, body spray product that American boys love using to lure and charm girls. I knew exactly who this was now.

* * *

_"Hey! Guess what!" Travis and Connor Stoll crashed into Cabin 11 carrying plastic bags full of who knows what. They interrupted conversations and board games that had just gotten interesting. Chris Rodriguez, Aly Parker, Adam Parker, Ethan Nakamura, Lucas Cashier, Eclipse the wolf, and I all looked up at them. _

_ "You guys robbed a taco truck and made out with a Mexican chic who was really a man." Chris guessed. He had that smirk that said he could be serious. _

_ "No, but that sounds like something I should dare Malcolm to do." Connor rushed in the middle of the room and knocked aside all of our board games and possessions. Travis took all of the bags they carried and dumped its contents on the cabin floor, grinning through fake plastic teeth that I knew he stole from the local Halloween store outside of Camp. _

_ "What the hell is this?" Aly asked. _

_ "Well Miss-I-Can-Fly-Because-I'm-So-Special,"Connor put his hands on his hips and shook his head like the drag queens on the telly do, "this is what we call..." Connor touched shoulders with his brother and they both sang out: "THE PIRATE LOOT! ARRRG!" They pretended to have hooked claw fingers and wooden poles as legs. Ethan actually got a kick out of that and burst into laughing fits. _

_ "You guys robbed a _costume_ store?" He blurted. _

_ "No, even better!" Travis scrambled through the contents, bringing up a DVD case. He shoved it in front of Ethan, whose Asian eyes ogled out. "We robbed an adult pleasure playhouse!" _

_ Aly shrieked and covered Adam's eyes, glaring at the Stoll brothers like she wanted to shank them. "You guys!" She whined. "Get this stuff out of here!" _

_ Adam shoved Aly away and from the loot and snatched a small box labeled "Trojans." The little boy's eyes grew wide when he opened its continents and fiddled with what was inside. "What are these?" He held one up to his sister._

_ "Something you should never use 'til you're married." Aly snatched the item and shoved it in the waste bin, wiping her hands on her jeans as though she had just touched slime. _

_ Wait, what? I was so confused. "What's an adult pleasure playhouse?" I asked nobody in particular. Growing up in a Catholic orphanage in the midst of London, the only playhouse I knew about was the one at the local McDonalds restaurant. But this stuff laying on the ground in front of me was nothing close to a Happy Meal toy. _

_ Everybody froze, not evening catching glances. They just silently, gaped at me until the Stolls grinned menacingly. _

_ "Well you see Selene..." Travis and Connor smirked at this opportunity and took seats next to me. They both would couldn't hold in their laughter. "When people have feelings of desire and they want to act out those feelings, they-" _

_ I screamed and covered my ears. "Oh my gods you guys don't give me the bird and the bees talk! It was bad enough getting it from the nuns!" _

_ The Stolls burst out laughing and clutched their stomaches, getting up only to fall down to the floor. _

_ "Oh my gods-" _

_ "-I can't believe-"_

_ "-you don't know-"_

_ "-about this stuff!"_

_ My face burned and I turned away, watching Chris pick out a can of Axe and Aly daringly hold up a plus sized bra by her index finger and thumb. _

_ "Oh no children!" Travis switched their items and folded his hands on his hips. "Aly, you always smell bad. And Chris... Chris I'm sorry but you have a horrible case of man boobs. You _need _the bra."_

_ Chris turned red and crossed his arms when everybody turned to stare at his chest. _

_ "On second thought..." Connor switched their items again, giving them back their original pickings. "Aly, you need some extra bust so you can impress Lee Fletcher." He wiggled his eyebrows at this. "And Chris needs some help on catching La Rue's_ attention." _He pronounced the word with a French accent, batting his eyelashes and fanning his face with his hand. Both he and his brother earned punches from Aly and Chris. _

_ "Haha, very funny." The gray eyed girl rolled her eyes. She whisked away the lingerie bra into the pile of stolen goods and attempted to blindfold Adam. I noted that Chris tucked away his Axe body spray into his sleeping bag when nobody was watching. _

_ "Ah ha!" Connor seized a bottle of raspberry cologne and held it out of arms reach from Travis. "Now _this_ is what I need to catch the eyes of the __beautiful and lovely Katie Flower!" _

_ "Hey I stole that, give it back! _I _need that so that Katie will notice _me_!" Travis tried taking the bottle but Connor wrestled it out of his reach. _

_ "Dumb ass, Katie already knows who you are!" Connor stuck out his tongue like Adam sometimes does."You're the Chocolate Bunny Decorator!" _

_ "No, I'm going to be her Prince Charming!" _

_ "No I will!" _

_ "I will!" _

_ "I will!" _

_ "You guys don't even know Katie's last name!" Lucas shouted. _

_ Both Stolls stopped arguing and gaped at him. "Yes I do." They said at the same time. _

_ "Oh yeah?" Lucas crossed his arms. "What's Katie's _full_ name then?" _

_ They both spoke at the same time: _

_ "Katheryn Wallflower." Connor said. _

_ "Katelyn Wildflowers." Travis said. _

_ Lucas rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Its pointless for the both of you." _

_ I could hear the nearing pound of hooves. The rhythm that said there were four feet coming toward us, not two. I squealed and dove for my bunk."Quick! Chiron's coming!" _

_ All around the cabin everybody pushed the playhouse items under bunks and sleeping bags, Ethan shouting at the last minute: "Nobody move! Everybody act natural!" _

_ "But I have to pee!" Adam yelled. _

_ We all burst out laughing again when the puzzled centaur came into a room filled with six mischievous demigods. Did I forget to mention that in Eclipse's mouth there was a giant pair of boxers withs the words "KISS ME" on the seat?_

_ Chiron's face was priceless. _

* * *

"Hi Chris." I said nonchalantly. I kept my fists hidden in the pockets of my hoodie, biting down on the bone I had to pick with him. "Fancy seeing you here, out on the Princess." _You traitor, coward, dumb ass! I hate you!_

I smiled sweetly until I remembered that guys don't do the whole 'nice innocent look' that I can so easily pull off. I changed it to a permanate scowl instead.

He cocked his head to the side, his hood fallen to have revealed his cocoa skin and Hispanic eyes. The baby fat and chubbiness has vanished from his face. If I could see his chest, the case of man boobs was probably gone too. "I go by Christopher here." He stated coldly.

"Sorry, my bad. I didn't know lad." I realized that he was now towering over me by a good six inches, just tall enough to scream the message: I'm not a fat, clumsy, little kid anymore.

"You come from Camp Half Blood?" He asked, looking me up and down like I was a puzzle with a missing link. I was ready to fight my way out of this place is he noticed any similarities between me and Selene.

"Yeah I was a rouge camper though." I lied. "So that's probably why you don't remember me much you know."

A rouge camper is someone who doesn't sleep in a cabin. Or sit at a pavilion table. They're usually the unclaimed who make their own means of living under the radar at Camp. If it wasn't for the rouge ones slipping under the cover of Chiron's blind eye, the Hermes cabin would have exploded beyond capacity much earlier.

"Yeah but I think I would have remember a British rouge camper, don't'cha think?" Chris said it like a threat, a warning that told me he knew I was up to something.

I rolled my eyes at it harmlessly. "Yeah and I think I would have noticed a big and buff Mexican at Camp but sadly, we're both outnumbered according to our race, aren't we?" Let the dancing smirk do its work and watch him become puzzled.

"Victor! We're over here c'mon!" Jolene appeared out of nowhere and tried to grab my arm to drag me away. She stopped and blushed when she noticed Chris standing there with his baggy shorts and dark sweatshirt.

"Oh. Hi, Christopher." Jolene brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and rested her elbow on my shoulder as if to show that I was just a friend, not a lover. She smiled that smile that said 'I'm sweet and innocent, believe it so that you can take that away from me.' She was not seriously into this guy, was she? After all that he did to Cla-

"Hey Jolene." Chris slowly looked her up and down, stopping slightly at her chest but then smiling briefly when they met eyes.

My hands clamped into fists and I took a step protectively in front of my friend. I wouldn't let this jerk take advantage of her. He did enough damage with La Rue.

"Eyes off Rodriguez. This girl's taken." And stop mentally raping her! I wanted to shout.

Chris raised an eyebrow and Jolene looked at me like 'What are you doing? This guy's hot!'

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend." Jolene shoved me away and darlingly took a step up to the Hispanic. She had to tilt her head back to look at him. "Victor here is just a friend." She stated bluntly.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not dating you but what about Lucn eh? You shouldn't lead him on Jo."

The child of magic flipped her red hair and glared at me. I swear the girl-y Aphrodite resemblance was screaming. "I can flirt with whoever I want _Wolfbane_. You're not my mother."

Jolene took a hold of Chris arm and guided him away, the Hispanic smirking at me over his shoulder. "Tough luck bro. She's a keeper!"

"More like an alcoholic whore." I said. They didn't hear me though.

_BING! BING! BING! _

The boxing match bell had rung and people were roaring and yelling up at the people on the mats, getting closer but being held back by the make-shift refs. I found Lucn among the crowd and squeezed close to him, muttering away my curses about love and how misleading it can be.

"Where's Jolene?" Lucn asked, he was turning heads behind me as though she were just hiding nearby.

I shrugged, turning away. "The witch got taken away by her urges."

Lucn raised an eyebrow. "Grape juice?" He seemed to guess.

I shook my head. "No, even worse: Buff Mexicans."

**I have to say that this is the weridest chapter I have ever written so far. Especially with the Stoll brothers' tricks and thief raids. I also had no intentions to be racist in anyway. I only mention some of the things I do in here because I want the characters actions and thoughts to be as realistic as possible since c'mon, they're all teenagers aren't they? Not to mention how its what, a thousand teenage demigods on a cruise with so little adult supervision? You tend to figure out that there's more than goes on behind the curtain. **

**REVIEW!  
**

**-Emmi  
**


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